There is no Midas touch in the Beloved Community

I wonder how big the golden calf was. You know, that golden calf made from the gold rings and things that Israel brought with them as they were liberated from Egypt and were being led out into the wilderness in order to be born again as a people unlike any people the world had ever known. Usually the picture is one of a great big calf around which the tribes could dance. Then again, the story never tells us the size of that golden calf.

In my faithful imagination, I cannot see anything more than a paper weight. Oh, it is a sizable paper weight - don't get me wrong - at least enough to hold down nice stack of paper. But really, when Karen and I were going to get married, we handed our previous wedding rings to the jeweler who melted them down - it was a little puddle of hot gold - a very little puddle. If we had brought thousands of rings with us, our jeweler could have made us a paper weight - like a calf - a little paper weight.

The people out in the wilderness gave up all that they had - all the wealth they had - all the stuff considered valuable - their gold. For what purpose? Did they really think this little bit of a golden paper weight would rescue them and provide them with prosperity and new life? Did they really think that they could create a god that would serve them and honor them and give them whatever they wanted?

In this biblical storytelling, remember that they already had been let in on a story etched in stone. It was the story of a people whose life together was to be something to which the world would turn because it would not be like anything the world had ever seen. Those ten words spoke of a beloved community in which no one was outside - even strangers would have a place. They were words from which the people heard that love of God and love of neighbor was one love - one life - one truth - one adventure. It was to be the end of violence against others. No longer was the many-sided antics of violence - that are stirred up by the desire to have or possess that which other seem to have - going to shape the day at hand. Those ten words would be a vision that creates a people called the beloved of God. It was all to be an adventure in which God's love - the kind of love that endlessly seeks the well-being of others - presides over a humanity learning to be truly human. No gold necessary for this life.

Yet, when we become anxious and not able to live within an unfolding promise - we fall for power we think we have and power we want to be able to say we have created. Objects become more valuable than human life. Rather than seek to serve and care for the other because we are all one people of God, we begin to believe that the things we create are meant to save our lives and no others. Unfortunately, that is the common sense of a world that has only known warfare - bitterness - rivalry - jealousy - and eventually, hatred of others who want exactly what we want. Our little bit of gold makes us think we are now like gods who can rule over others. Look at our gold - Look at our self-made worth - Look at all we have - Look at how much better we are than others.

Within the beloved community, this golden paper weight is always seen as that which it is - a lie. It is a lie that demands the sacrifice of others in order to keep golden lies alive. That trust in ourselves - that trust in that which we have - that trust in that which we have come to think of as our creation - is never creative for it never seeks the well-being of others. It is always the death of us and our neighbors for we are fooled into believing that we must sacrifice our lives for our little bit of a golden life. Then, it fools us into believing we must sacrifice others to keep our lives golden.  Therefore, in the face of death's golden claim on humanity, the beloved community walks across bridges of division and damnation - stands with those who have no gold to pay their way - risks death when the life of others are threatened - engages in act of mercy in the face of unjust antics - advocates for the forgotten and those pushed aside.

You will find no gold in the beloved community - it is not necessary for life. You will find - lives willing to raise up even the least among us. That is the treasure of the beloved community that no power can take from us.
TRRR